


Taking Chances

by Ariadneswake



Category: Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Happy Ending
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:00:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25772494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ariadneswake/pseuds/Ariadneswake
Summary: Lorcan and Elide met by chance, and it didn't go well, but by chance or by perseverance they find something in each other that neither knew they needed.This fic is a prequel to my Rowaelin fic, Moving On, and came about as a spin-off of sorts. Either can be read as a standalone, but they are linked, and if you prefer Rowaelin, there are a few minor spoilers about Rowan's past in this fic, so if that bugs you I suggest reading in the order they were written, rather than chronologically. It takes places about three years prior to Rowan and Aelin's story, and tells the story of how Lorcan and Elide met and fell in love.
Relationships: Elide Lochan/Lorcan Salvaterre
Comments: 6
Kudos: 33





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> TW: Panic attack

***Elide***

Elide rubbed at the twisted knot that her ankle had become and tried once again to regain her bearings. The stump she was leaning against was uncomfortable, but it did the trick to get the pressure off her foot. 

Most days her old injury was an afterthought, a mild inconvenience that she had long since adapted to, but it was Asterin's turn to choose the "family outing" for all the women from work. She had been itching to hike this trail for weeks.

Elide wasn't sure what had possessed her to agree to come along. Her first inclination had been to stay back at the bar, maybe finish up bottle inventory for next month's order before heading up the stairs to her small apartment and curling up for a night in.

Maybe it was Edda and Briar's romanced up description of the waterfalls. Or maybe it was Manon's taunting. Elide didn't take well to being told she was incapable of something. Even if it was in good humor. Even if it was probably true. The final nail in the coffin had been Asterin's promise that the trail was paved most of the way and that the hike was less of a hike and more of a pleasant walk through the forest. Of course it wouldn't occur to someone with two perfectly functional legs that a barely maintained packed dirt trail was decidedly NOT the same thing as pavement.

Elide huffed an angry sigh and resisted the tears she felt building in the corners of her eyes. She knew they were trying to make her feel welcome and she truly was trying to fit in, but ever since Manon had taken her in it had been a struggle to relate to any of her friends. They were already a tightly knit pack of women, strong willed forces of nature, moving through the world with self assured confidence that didn't make room for anyone who couldn't measure up. Try as she might, Elide never seemed to be able to meet the mark. They were dancers, physical embodiments of perfection, graceful and confident and experienced with the world. They were absolutely captivating, drawing both men and women alike to the shows they put on three nights a week. Monday through Thursday Blackbeak Tavern looked like any other shady pub along the waterfront, but each weekend people crammed themselves into the bar until there was barely standing room to watch "Manon and the Thirteen" take the stage. 

Elide couldn't help but compare herself to them. She was six inches shorter than the smallest of them, and somehow as her body healed and filled back in after too many years of hard living under the abusive rule of her Uncle Vernon, she found herself with unfamiliar curves she couldn't quite conceal and a fear of attracting the wrong kind of attention if she tried to accentuate them. Not to mention her mangled ankle. Her current predicament was just one more confirmation that, though they had adopted her into their group, she didn't really fit into it. 

She had been lagging behind since they left the car and finally stopped for a moment to re-tie her laces, hoping that a tighter knot might give her ankle more support and allow her to catch up. When she had looked back up the women had disappeared around a bend and in her rush to catch up, Elide hadn't noticed the path slowly blending into the forest until it was too late. Everywhere she turned it was the same, dense forest with no sign of civilization in sight and the longer she kept looking, the more lost she seemed to find herself. Tears finally began to spill over as she realized she was well and truly lost, and it seemed that no one had even noticed her missing. It was useless. They probably thought she had given up and gone back to the car. 

The loud crack of a branch snapping startled Elide back to reality. She whipped around awkwardly stumbling away from whatever threat had appeared behind her. The tallest man she had ever seen was frozen next to a tree about six feet away. His eyes were darker than she had ever seen before and the corners of his mouth were turned down in a deep frown. His body was corded with muscle lending him an air of lethality that had Elide's instincts screaming at her to cower. He took a step toward her and for a moment Elide was again standing at the top of stairs to her Uncle's basement, waiting for the slap that would send her tumbling down into the dark. 

In a blink she was back in the forest, stepping away from the stranger and tripping over her own feet. Sitting on the damp forest floor she frantically felt around for a weapon, a stick, anything to defend herself with. He took another step toward her and she flinched. She tried to find the words, any words to make him leave her alone but nothing would come out, like her voice had been locked away in the basement along with her broken ankle that would never see treatment. She scooted back again only to find herself against a tree and pulled her knees against herself. The man was saying something. She could see his mouth moving, but the blood was rushing past her ears and she couldn't hear his voice, couldn't get enough air. She heard gasping and thought it might be her own, but she couldn't be sure. He crouched in front of her, dark eyes now tinged with panic. His hands were coming toward her and Elide felt her entire body recoil against the tree at her back. Her eyes squeezed shut and she braced herself for the unwelcome sensation of hands against her skin, but it never came. She counted out the seconds in her head, trying to regain the ability to breathe, still tensing against a touch that didn't seem to be coming. After ten seconds she was still gasping but she eased her eyes back open. 

He was still there but had moved back a foot and held his hands up, palms facing her. She took in his expression. Calm concern had furrowed his brow, but his eyes betrayed a hint of panic. "Can you hear me?" His voice was deep and soothing somehow, despite his intimidating stature. Elide nodded her head but didn't unfold herself. "Good. That's good. Are you injured?" She shook her head no and a worried look crossed his face as he gave her ankle a pointed look.

"O-old," she managed to squeak between gasps that were quickly easing back into normal breaths. 

He nodded once before he resumed asking questions. She hesitated when he asked if someone had hurt her and the flare of rage that crossed his face on her behalf had her cheeks flushing pink with embarrassment at how she had reacted when he first appeared. She quickly shook her head no and dropped her face to the ground. She pulled in a ragged breath and let it out slowly. "How did you end up out here then?"

She flicked her eyes back up to his. "I took a wrong turn and lost the trail."

His features hardened and his tone was sharp and dismissive as he snapped, "You shouldn't be out here if you don't know the area. Trails don't just disappear if you're paying attention and with an injury like that you shouldn't be within ten feet of these woods anyway."

Suddenly Elide felt a flare of anger building up in her chest. He had gone from seemingly concerned to condescending asshole faster than she could blink and for whatever reason, that was the final straw. With as much sarcasm as she could muster while coming down from her panic attack she spat, "Well thanks Ranger Rick I'll keep that in mind for next time I decide to forget my fucked up ankle that I've been dealing with for over a decade and go wandering blindly into the stupid fucking woods with perfect fucking women, only to get lost and meet a condescending fucking prick in the middle of the GODS DAMNED WILDERNESS." By the time she finished she was standing over him, practically screaming herself horse, as he watched with wide eyes. She took a deep breath. "Thank you for stopping. I'll find my own way home."

The man pursed his lips and squinted at her as she picked a direction and started walking, but he didn't say a word or move to get up. She would have to reach the edge eventually and as soon as she had cell service she could call Manon. She felt the anger rise up her throat again at the thought of her cousin. Manon knew exactly what she was doing when she said Elide couldn't finish the trail. She knew those words would get her just riled up enough to get her moving… just like she had known how to get Elide out of Vernon's house, out of Perranth. Elide had been scared to go then too. Her anger fizzled and she rubbed a hand against her forehead. She looked out at the trees. No matter how hard she looked, she couldn't find anything familiar to tell her where she'd come from. She peeked over her shoulder where the dark giant of a man was watching her with a smirk. She raised her brows in question and tilted her head the direction she had been about to walk. His smirk grew smug as he shook his head. 

Elide pinched the bridge of her nose. "Fuck." When she looked up he was still wearing that infuriating smirk. "Would you please help me get back to the parking lot……" she paused, realizing she didn't know what to call him, "um...sir?" 

"It's Lorcan," she watched the muscles in his arm tense as he pushed off the ground and stood up to his full height, "Lorcan Salvaterre." Elide trailed her eyes up his body as she really took him in for the first time. Her mouth fell open slightly as her eyes travelled up his frame, and snapped shut when she reached his face to find that his smirk had somehow become even more smug. She scowled up at him, craning her neck as he stepped closer. "Do you have a name?"

"Of course I do. It's…" she hesitated for a moment as Vernon flashed through her head, "Marion. My name is Marion."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

***Elide***

They had been walking in near silence for twenty minutes. Elide had tried to start several conversations, but he quickly shut her down each time with sharp one word answers. After the third try Elide gave up and slid back into her own irritated silence. He spent most of the trek staring straight ahead, frowning into the trees. She supposed it was within his rights to be irritated at having to help her. It wasn't lost on her that her inability to keep up had inconvenienced him as well. She understood why he seemed to dislike her, she just wished he would at least try to be pleasant. Every time he shot down one of her questions or remarks it added a little more fuel to the fire that had been building since before she'd left the house that morning. At least he had agreed to help, and though he did scowl at nearly every tree they passed and seemed to be avoiding looking at Elide entirely, he also paused every so often to make sure she was keeping up, and offered an arm when the terrain became uneven. 

As the silence stretched between them, Elide's mind began to wander. She snuck a glance at the man beside her and wondered what it looked like when he smiled. The grimace that seemed to be permanently etched onto his face didn't move as he quickly flicked his eyes in her direction and then back to the trees. 

She startled when he suddenly spoke. "So was it a prank?"

Her brows furrowed. "What?"

"You getting lost. What did you say… 'perfect fucking women'? I'm trying to figure out how you ended up this deep in the woods alone, when you started out with a group. So, it was a prank right? Send you out and make you find your way home?"

Elide felt a rush of irritation. "Of course not. I was here with friends. They would never do something like that!" Even as she said it Elide's stomach twisted. She knew they didn't leave her on purpose, but was it really all that different in the end? She was still lost, and she was fairly certain that no one had come looking for her. They probably hadn't even noticed that she was gone. She felt the flush creeping up her neck and tried to will it away. 

"How did you get separated then? If you had friends looking out for you…"

She turned her face away from him. "I had to stop for a minute."

"That doesn't explain how you lost a whole group. Did you step away to pee or something?"

Elide scowled. "No. I did not 'step away to pee' I was just tightening my shoelaces."

"But surely you could've stayed together to do that…"

"They were already ahead," she cut in tersely.

"But,"

"Why are you pushing this?! Are you trying to make me feel worse?! They didn't notice. Okay?!" Once she had started speaking, the rest seemed to overflow out of her like a volcano spewing hot rage and irritation. "They didn't notice me, as fucking usual, I was lagging behind, and they didn't notice that I stopped, and by the time I tried to catch up they were out of sight and fucking Asterin said she knew where we were going and that the whole way was paved and flat and I should've known better. I should've fucking known better and stayed the fuck home. But noooooooo, it's "coworker bonding" and Manon. FUCKING Manon just had to be an asshole about it and she was fucking right. I can't do it. I couldn't keep up. And now here I am stuck in these fucking woods, with only your glowing personality for company. And I get it. I really do. I've inconvenienced you and I suppose you have every right to be pissed off about having to help the poor broken lost girl, but couldn't you at least try? Just try to be pleasant? Gods, I know you must find me pathetic, but at least you could treat me like a human being."

The momentary shock behind his eyes passed quickly and his face settled back into a hard scowl. Elide shuffled forward as fast as she could manage. Steam might as well have been pouring from her ears, but she still tried to hide the grimace of pain as her ankle felt ready to splinter apart. Lorcan was a few paces behind her when her foot caught under a root and she stumbled, catching herself against the tree and cursing violently under her breath.

"You know a sturdy pair of lace up boots and the right kind of brace would probably help with that. You'd probably still have the limp but it might take some of the pressure off your ankle and would probably help with the pain." 

Elide rested her head against the tree and 26 perfect legs and dainty feet gracefully danced across her mind. "Great," she scoffed. "I already get stared at for my limp, now I have to add loud clunky man boots to draw even more attention to it? I'm already a joke trying to keep up with the girls, may as well add clown shoes." She glanced toward Lorcan awkwardly waiting a few feet behind and felt a twinge of guilt. She had exploded at him, while he was helping her out. He was trying, she supposed she could too. She managed to pull a tight smile together and put as much kindness as she could muster into her next words. "Thank you though, for the suggestion. You're probably right." He just shrugged awkwardly and started moving again as they fell into another uncomfortable silence.

Elide followed behind him, quietly taking in his hulking form with irritated eyes. Did he have to be this good looking? It was practically offensive that even with a scowl on his face he was gorgeous. He probably never had to pay for coffee. She imagined women fawning over him and scowled at his perfectly formed ass. 

"The trail is right up here." Just as he finished speaking a paved path came into view. "And the parking lot is just around this bend." He pointed.

Elide brushed her hands off on her pants. "Alright. Well, I can take it from here. Thanks for your help."

Lorcan watched her for a long moment. She could see that he was debating something in his head. "I promised to get you to the parking lot." His mouth quirked up to the side and even the smug half smile transformed his face before her eyes. For a moment she was struck silent by the tiny taste of what he might look like when he was happy. Gods she wanted to put a full blown grin on that face. She would bet everything she had that it would be blindingly beautiful. The moment was ruined when he spoke again. "I wouldn't want to have to rescue you twice." 

She saw red and started stomping down the trail, throwing her hands into the air and forcefully ignoring the pain shooting up her leg.

"Marion wait!" He called as she was rounding the bend. He caught up just as the parking lot came into view. "I wanted to-"

"What the actual FUCK, Elide?!" She cringed at the anger in Manon's voice and flicked her eyes up to Lorcan as he tensed beside her. 

He looked down and raised a brow at the use of her real name. She shrugged apologetically just as Manon began to unleash another torrent of anger.

"Where the fuck have you been? We've been waiting for almost an hour. You just disappeared! What the hell?" Elide fought the instinct to cower under the intense golden glare Manon was aiming at her. She tried to summon the rage she had been burning with a few minutes ago, but the flame seemed to have sputtered out. Manon took another step toward them and a rush of fear drained her face of color as memories of Vernon flashed across her mind once again. 

She was just about to stammer out an apology when Lorcan broke his tense posture and stepped up to tower between her and Manon. He glared down at the white haired woman as if she were a worm in the dirt. With a completely straight face and more condescension in his voice than Elide had ever heard he said "Do you think wilderness safety is a joke?" Elide's jaw dropped. Ranger Rick was back with a vengeance, all hulking muscles and passion for saving clueless hikers. She had half a mind to look around and see if Smokey the Bear was going to pop out from the treeline and educate them on the dangers of forest fires as well, but that would require looking away from Lorcan and she wasn't so sure she ever wanted to stop looking at him. As soon as the thought hit her, she dropped her eyes and questioned her own mind. He was rude. And tactless. Elide supposed she had been too, though. No. She didn't like him. They had barely spoken over the last hour, and he had been rude first. Godsdammit, she was staring at his ass again. She snapped her eyes back up to the standoff happening before her. She must've only missed a few seconds because they were still staring at each other.

Manon's eyes burned as she dragged them down his body and back up to his face with disdain. "Who the fuck are you, asshole?"

"I'm the asshole that just helped your friend find her way back here after you and your snooty pack of wolves left her behind and lost her." Elide felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment. 

Manon seemed taken aback as she spit her next words at him. "Shes an adult. Keeping track of her isn't my problem Shes perfectly capable of-"

"The fact that she's capable doesn't matter if she doesn't know the fucking area." Elide's eyes widened in shock. He thought she was 'capable'? Surely he was just making a point. Still she stood a little taller next to him as he continued. "Any one of you could've gotten lost in her situation and all it would've taken to prevent it is for a single one of you self absorbed witches to check that you were all staying together." 

Manon's eyes were wide and hot with rage and her hands contorted into claws tipped with pointed chrome lacquered acrylics. Elide carefully pulled in a breath and tried to put as much confidence and irritation in her stance as possible as Lorcan continued on. "Do you know how big Oakwald is? This forest stretches all the way north to Terrasen. She could've been lost out there for days before someone found her, if they ever did. She is a person, not an inconvenience and when you are in the wilderness, it is the job of EVERY person in the group to ensure that you are ALL safe."

Elide had never seen Manon at a loss for words, but whether the cause was anger or shock, she didn't retort. She spun on her heel and walked toward the car, only pausing to hollar over her shoulder. "Let's go Elide."

Lorcan turned to frown down at her and just as she began to say thank you, he blurted "I'd like to take you to dinner."

Elide's eyebrows shot up as she met his stare. He had spent the last hour shifting his eyes angrily between her and the trees around them. Helping her out or not, she certainly hadn't intended to see him again. A low growl drifted over from the car where Manon was grumbling under her breath. A quick glance her direction confirmed that her golden eyes had been trying to drill a hole in the back of Elide's head. A fresh wave of irritation at her cousin flooded through her. Even if he glared at her the whole night at least it would dig at Manon a bit. Not to mention that the only men who ever bothered to ask Elide out were patrons of the bar who usually were only looking for a quick fuck after striking out all night. While she occasionally considered taking one of them up on their offer and just getting it over with, she knew she would end up regretting having her first time in a dirty alley behind the bar. Also the few occasions on which she had dared to go out with one of them had ended with her alone having a panic attack and them leaving as fast as possible. None had ever made it inside her apartment. Maybe she preferred it that way. It was easier. Safer. 

She turned back to Lorcan, 'no thank you' already starting to form behind her lips, but they fell away when she met his eyes. He still wore a gentle frown, but she caught a tiny flicker of nervousness behind his dark gaze that disappeared so fast she almost wondered if she had imagined it. As if her body had decided to disconnect itself from her mind and make it's own decisions, he pulled a pack of matches emblazoned with the bar logo and held it out to him between two fingers. "Pick me up here at 8.” 

Something like surprise sparked in his dark eyes and the corner of his mouth pulled up almost imperceptibly. "I'll see you at 8," he said, then narrowed his eyes slightly before smirking and adding, "Marion." His voice had a rough growl to it that sent warmth shooting through her. She lingered a few moments longer sweeping her eyes over his figure until he disappeared around the curve of the trail. She had ogled him while they were walking of course. He was huge and dark, handsome even while he was being an ass, but intimidating in a way that made your heart race. She had been looking at him from a place of anger and criticism before. 

For this one moment while he walked away she allowed herself to gaze at him appreciatively. The man was built like a brick house, all hard lines and sharp angles that made you want to travel along them, like roads and paths laid out for your fingers. The tiny curve to his mouth when she had said yes flashed through her mind and something small and delicate fluttered around in her chest. He had given smug smiles and smirks sure, but that tiny lift to his lips was entirely different. It was genuine happiness, delicate and fragile, and it left her breathless.

"Get your ass in the car before I leave you here!" Manon's sharp tone snapped her back to reality. Elide shook her head as she turned toward the car and wondered what in the world she had just gotten herself into.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: memory of physical abuse/violence (detail level: not graphic), religious fundamentalism (fictitious) 
> 
> To avoid these topics, stop reading when you see bolded text, and it will be safe to resume reading at the next bolded text

***Lorcan***

As soon as he knew he was out of site from the parking lot, Lorcan braced his hands on his knees and took a deep breath. His car was in that lot, and he was almost an hour late picking up Fenrys and Rowan from the boat dock where they'd ended their kayaking trip, but he had needed a minute to collect himself, and if he had stayed in that lot, he knew he wouldn't have been able to stop himself from staring at Elide until she was out of sight. Hellas take him, he had already spent the entire last hour trying not to stare at her. He failed miserably, and he had been pretty sure she hated him for it. At least until… 

He straightened up and pulled the matchbook from his pocket. "Blackbeak Tavern. Huh." He smiled down at it. "Alright." He flipped it between his fingers and walked back toward the parking lot. He pulled his phone from the pocket of his shorts and dialed Rowan's number.

"Where the fuck are you? We were just about to abandon the kayaks and come looking for you."

"I'm on my way. I got caught up helping a hiker that got lost off the trail." Lorcan double-checked that Marion and her friends had left before stepping back into the open. _No, not Marion. The white haired chick called her Elide._ He wondered why she would feel the need to give a fake name. 

"Are you even listening to a word I've said?" Rowan's sharp tone snapped him back into action, unlocking the door to his Subaru Outback and sliding into the driver's seat.

"Nope." 

Rowan huffed a sigh. "You were barely a twenty minute hike to the car, how did taking a lost hiker the direction you were already going, take you an extra hour?"

From somewhere near Rowan he could hear Fenrys in the background. "There probably was no lost hiker. He probably just left us here as revenge for the adventure scout incident of '94.” Then louder, "We were six years old Lorcan! And you were only lost in the woods for a couple hours before the scout leader found you! Don't leave us here!" Lorcan rubbed a hand across his eyes. It had been a prank to the rest of them, just little kids messing around, but for Lorcan it was one of his more painful memories. Even at six, it wasn't the first time he'd been abandoned and left to fend for himself. If he felt like being honest, he would admit that it was probably part of why he'd gotten so angry at Elide's friends.

Rowan huffed an exasperated sigh. "Just, please hurry up before I actually do dump Fenrys's body in the woods."

Lorcan tucked the matchbook into the small space below his speedometer. "I'm pulling out of the lot now. I'll be there in ten." 

***Lorcan***

He made it to the boat ramp in eight minutes. The kayaks were secured in fifteen, and Fenrys was whining in the back seat in twenty. Rowan must've been hungry, because his arms were crossed tightly across his chest and he was staring out the window. "I just don't understand why it took you so long," he grumbled.

Lorcan reached down and dug through the junk in the pocket of his door panel until he found the half eaten bag of jerky he had stashed there. Fenrys's knee jabbed into the back of his seat. He held the bag out to Rowan. "The hiker was injured," he answered carefully, remembering that she had given a fake name. "It took longer to navigate the terrain back to the trail." Rowan snagged the bag from his hand and tore into it. Another sharp jab in his back had Lorcan gritting his teeth. They rode along in blessed silence for a few minutes, only interrupted by Fenrys's constant adjustment, while Rowan chewed his way through the rest of the jerky. He was noticeably more relaxed when he finally tucked the empty bag into the side pouch of a backpack at his feet. 

He sat up and looked around the car, eyes immediately catching on the matchbook behind the steering wheel. "What's that?"

Fenrys knee jabs through the seat again and Lorcan twisted in his seat to give him a dirty look.

"I got it from the hiker."

Fenrys's head suddenly pops between the seats. "There! No more knees, and I can chat _._ " _Gods, I'd rather he keep kneeing me in the back. "_ Seriously, why can't you buy an enormous truck like Rowan? His back seat is magnificent. Yours is practically non-existent."

"Bar matches?" Rowan mutters to himself and continues staring at the matches as if Fenrys hadn't even spoken. _Dammit. He's staring at those matches like a hawk tracking prey._ Lorcan silently begged Rowan not to say anything as he watched him try to puzzle out an answer, at least not in front of Fenrys.

He cleared his throat. "Uh Rowan, think you could hook me up with your Uncle Enda's table at Clarisse's?"

Rowan furrowed his brow, surprised by the question, until suddenly recognition passed across his face. He raised his brows, asking for confirmation. Lorcan gave a small nod. "Sure thing, what time?"

"Don't you hate places like that? Is it a business dinner? You gotta schmooze management or something?"

Lorcan ignored Fenrys and glanced at Rowan. "8:30?"

"That's pretty late for a work dinner," Fenrys piped in. Lorcan and Rowan both gave exasperated sighs. Then Lorcan cranked the radio to avoid any more conversation.

  
  


***Elide***

Elide shuffled her way down the rows of alcohol bottles stored in the lit glass display shelves behind the bar. She made notes of what was getting low and half listened to the Thirteen having a troupe meeting behind her. They were spread across the tables and booths, listening intently as Manon pitched her new ideas. 

"We've already got a few numbers in a carnival theme that are more popular than expected and I'm thinking of working it into a full length show. Ideas?" 

The rest of the women were quiet for a moment until Briar perked up. Edda, her twin, was already leaning her head against the table in resignation. "We could make a costume out of cotton candy and pull up a guest to lick it off. Or funnel cake! We could be funnel cakes and they could take off our wrappers!"

Elide hid a smile. Briar was an excellent dancer. She could learn and perform complicated routines in a day, had even filled in when someone couldn't be there for a solo number. Planning and conceptualizing just wasn't her talent. Elide wasn't even sure the health department would allow food to be eaten in that context.

Manon's reply was quick and sharp. "We invite men onstage to eat their hearts. We do not invite men onstage to eat us and toss their leftovers in a trash can. Funnel cakes? What are we going to do pop out of a giant fryer?" 

Briar ducked her head and blushed. "You're the one who wanted carnival ideas." She didn't try to meet Manon's eye again.

"You're thinking of the fair Briar." Elide interjected, trying to help the petite brunette. "She means like an old timey carnival vibe. Think fortune tellers, exotic animals, and freak shows."

Manon's head perked up. "Exactly."

Elide turned and leaned on the bar, addressing her cousin. "You could probably take it further than just a standard weekend show." Manon raised a brow. "Turn it into a vip ticketed event. One night only. We could transform the space easy enough." She looked around with a critical eye. It was a large space, having been converted from part of an older shipping warehouse. "We could clear the tables, put in a few tents and do small scale individual shows for more intimate groups with a "freak show" theme. A fortune teller could be fun. We could even sell carnival themed food and drinks at the bar." She winked at Briar.

Faline laughed from across the room. "We already have the twins as contortionists and Vesta can be our tattooed wonder. We could slap a beard on Sorrell as our bearded lady. We could even try to squeeze Elide's ass into a corset and bloomers," 

Elide perked up at her name, cheeks pinking slightly at the thought of so much of her skin on display. It was a constant joke, them trying to get her to try on their costumes. She always said no, but part of her wanted to know what it felt like, to be so confident in so little the way the thirteen were. When Faline continued, though, her heart sunk all the way to her stomach. "I bet our makeup artist could find some prosthetics to match your fucked up ankle! You could be the body horror act." She spread her hands in front of her like she was reading a banner. "The lady with twisted bones!" Laughs scattered across the room as Elide's heart began to thud faster and faster in her chest. 

"The name needs some work," Sorrell called from across the room. Elide leaned a hand on the counter and pointedly stared at the wood grain, unable to lift her eyes back to the group. The air around her seemed to thin. She absently swiped a towel around and prayed to Anneith that none of them would look close enough to see anything more than her cleaning the counters while she put all her energy into not crying or gasping for air. The other women around the room began bouncing name ideas between them, laughing as they did, until Manon landed a sharp smack to the back of Faline's head and all the chatter suddenly died out.

"Elide can't be an act idiot." Manon's voice was that of a queen holding court. Firm and professional, but with a hint of icy cruelty carrying an unspoken threat to anyone who questioned her. "She has to run the bar. Kaltain can't handle a crowd that size alone." She turned toward Elide, still frozen and staring at the bar top. "Don't you have a date to get ready for?" she snapped.

Elide jumped into action, tossing the towel under the bar and doing her best to act as if she had just remembered. She met Manon's eye for a half second, sending silent thanks, then quickly made a beeline toward the stairs behind the stage that led up to her apartment.

  
  


***Elide***

Elide leaned against her front door and took a few deep, slow breaths. In her own space and away from prying eyes, she felt the panic begin to recede. It was quickly replaced by an almost manic kind of anxiety when she looked at the clock and realized it actually was time to get ready for her date. A date she agreed to go on with a large grumpy man who spent the morning glaring at her while she inconvenienced him. She still couldn't wrap her head around why he'd asked. Nor did she understand what had come over her to make her accept. He was easily the most handsome man she had ever seen, born with a face that made you want to stare, but with Lorcan it went farther. He was attractive, the kind of attractive that took hard work. She was willing to bet he got the most out of his gym membership. He probably worked out really hard and his muscles probably got really sweaty.

_Okay, maybe I know part of why I said yes._

And then there was what he had said to Manon. Elide could count on one hand the number of times someone had come to her defense like that and still have fingers to spare. She began flipping through the dresses and pants hanging in her closet. _It doesn't change the fact that he was grumpy and rude and infuriating the entire hike._ She breathed a sigh. _And I suppose so was I._

It had already been a long day and Elide was nearing the point of exhaustion, yet somehow she was still running on nervous energy. Nothing she owned was right. She had never felt confident experimenting with dressing her body, and now she had no idea how to accentuate it. 

She stared and stared at her closet, begging it to pick up a needle and thread and create something new for her, until a sharp rap against her door pulled her attention away. Manon slipped inside without waiting for an answer. "Hey, where did you put that bottle order?"

They both knew where Elide had put the bottle order. It was sitting dead center in the middle of Manon's desk. Manon was there to check on her, and they both knew it.

Elide didn't bother to answer her question, and instead said, "I have nothing to wear." 

Manon sighed and rubbed at her eyes. "I don't like him."

"Are there any men you like?" Elide blinked at her knowingly.

"I like parts of them," Manon snarked. Elide smiled wide. These were the moments with **Manon that reminded her why they had stuck together.**

Manon's grandmother had treated her nearly as poorly as Vernon had treated Elide. While Elide was locked in the house by her fundamentalist uncle and forced her to live under the strict laws of The Church of Valg, Manon's grandmother had worked tirelessly, and worked Manon tirelessly, to rise the ranks and claim a place of power beside "The Great Erawan" himself. His real name was Craig Benton. He'd had it legally changed when he established his first church building and raised himself from "prophet" to "deity", all at the will of the Valg, of course.

Elide had always known it was bullshit. Her parents had told her the stories of the old gods and of their family's patron Anneith and she had always secretly held Anneith near through her darkest times. There were many. Manon on the other hand had been raised in it, taught to embody the cruelty that was forced on her. 

It wasn't until the day that she and Elide had first met that she began to question her upbringing. It was an eventuality, she supposed, that they would've met as both Vernon and Manon's grandmother rose in power, though neither one bothered to realise that their charges weren't quite so on board with the physical and emotional abuse that was meant to "cleanse them" of their impurities. Elide remembered it as clearly as if it had happened that morning. 

She was sixteen when they'd met. Manon and her grandmother had come for a meeting with Vernon and Elide was called to serve refreshments.The injury to her ankle was only a few months old, and still excruciating. She'd stumbled. Then, in front of their guests, Vernon had bestowed one of the worst beatings she had received while under his care and tossed her back into the basement like trash. She only knew the last part because she had woken up bloodied and bruised at the bottom of the stairs. She'd lived three days on a granola bar and a bottle of water she'd managed to keep hidden away before the door at the top of the stairs opened again. 

Manon and her grandmother had started coming to the house every few weeks after that. They didn't speak much to each other. They never really had the opportunity, but they did catalogue each other's bruises from across the room. Then one day, Manon just... disappeared. She stopped coming with her grandmother. Two and a half years passed before she saw Manon again. 

She had shown up on Elide's twentieth birthday, with explosives she had stolen from a construction site, and blown a hole in the basement. Within less than a minute she was shoving Elide into the back seat of Asterin's car and they were off. Elide watched out the back window of the car as another explosion shook the walls, and then, as if in slow motion the house seemed to collapse in on itself, completely filling the basement that Elide had been sleeping in a few minutes before. Manon had faked her death and buried her, then given her a place to live and started paying her under the table to tend the bar. Digging out that basement would've taken weeks, if they would even bother to look for her. They found out later that Manon's grandmother had been killed in the second explosion. Unsurprisingly, Elide's death was never reported.

Over the next few days she had found out that Manon and Asterin had left the church when they turned nineteen. The rest of the thirteen followed soon after. 

" **ELIDE!" Manon's sharp snap tugged her back to reality. "I've been trying to get your attention for ten minutes, fuck."**

"Sorry," she replied quickly.

"Where are you going?" 

Elide furrowed her brow, "What?"

"Where is the park ranger taking you on your date?"

Elide slapped a hand to her head. "Oh! Fuck! Yes, that. I have no idea."

Manon pulled a black dress from the closet and tossed it onto her bed. "Wear that one. And if I see you leave this bar in a cardigan, I will kick your ass out." Elide eyed the low neckline and slim skirt that stopped just above the knee. She'd only ever worn it for business meetings when inspectors or bank people came in, and only ever covered in a cardigan. She eyed them longingly. Manon caught her staring and added, "I doubt your asshole park ranger will let anyone ogle you inappropriately."

"And what if my park ranger is the one doing the inappropriate ogling?"

"Then I know a place to bury the body and have twelve willing accomplices to help dig." She looked Elide in the eye for a moment before continuing. "I think you want him to ogle you though. You're just scared to admit it." 


End file.
